


A Day In The Life of Eshima Yokomoto (Hope’s Peak Edition)

by Bowlergirl603



Series: Tales of Eshima Yokomoto: The Ultimate Bowling Pro [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: (but only in the backstory parts), Alarm clocks are my mortal enemy, Angst, Character Study, Eshima Yokomoto is my OC, Family Issues, Hiding things, Hope's Peak Academy, I hate them so Eshima does too, I love this group of online friends, I will f i g h t for them, Lack of Sleep, Lots of opinions on talents, OC based on author, Some Cursing, Traveling, Trouble paying attention, Ultimate Bowling Pro, bowling, cuz who sleeps nowadays, family support, pffft not me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 09:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19885030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bowlergirl603/pseuds/Bowlergirl603
Summary: Eshima Yokomoto is an easy-going adventurous girl at Hope's Peak Academy. She was scouted by the academy for her bowling ability, earning her the title of Ultimate Bowling Pro. She has a Great Aunt and a group of online friends who'll always have her back, but there are some scars from the past that she will never be able to get rid of.





	A Day In The Life of Eshima Yokomoto (Hope’s Peak Edition)

**Author's Note:**

> Eshima Yokomoto is my Danganronpa OC

The sound of an alarm blaring pierced the former silence of Eshima Yokomoto’s dorm room. She found herself slowly regaining consciousness, yet couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes yet. After a few moments she decided that anything was better than hearing her alarm go off again, so she groggily sat up and shut it off. Her alarm was always kept at max volume since she often found herself sleeping through alarms even back home. Usually her Great Aunt would have to wake her up on the day of a tournament because lord knows she wouldn’t be able to get up herself. Still half asleep, she tilted her head to check the time.  _ Shit _ .

She forced her eyes to snap open and despite her body’s protest, she quickly darted out of bed and rushed to her dresser. It was already 7:30 and her class, which was all the way in another building on campus that  _ wasn’t _ so close to the dorms (very smart Hope’s Peak), started at 8:10. She often rushed like this to get ready.  _ Definitely _ not a morning person. Though despite these less than pleasant morning routines, she was rarely late to class. Well, she says  _ rarely _ , but she is still known for being late a good amount of the time. But when you compare the number of latenesses to the total days she’s had to rush like this, you could see that she had a pretty good record. 

She searched through her discombobulated drawers until she found her favorite and most frequently worn outfit (they were mostly disorganized from her throwing around her clothes in an effort to find the ones she wanted to wear. The only organized thing about her dresser was that each type of clothing [shirts, pants, pajamas, etc.] was sorted into their own drawer). A black pair of sweatpants with two white lines running down the side of each of her legs, a t-shirt designed to look like bowling alley carpet, with swirls and shapes in a purple, white, gray, and black pattern, and a short sleeved white collared dress shirt with her Ultimate Bowling Pro symbol embedded onto the chest pocket that she liked to wear unbuttoned over the t-shirt. 

Eshima ran into the bathroom and threw off her pajamas, swapping them for her normal everyday clothes. She brushed her teeth and quickly washed her face. Then she grabbed the brush so she could brush her hair, which was an ebony black at the top then faded into a dark purple ombre. Once she was satisfied enough that there weren’t that many knots in her hair (she didn’t care all that much about appearance, as long as she was somewhat presentable) she stepped outside of the bathroom and into the view of her full length mirror in order to do some finishing touches to her outfit.

As usual she lifted her shirt so it looked like a short crop top and tied it up with a hair tie in back of her. While Eshima wasn’t the  _ skinniest  _ person around, wearing her shirts like that made her feel more confident. She was also able to cover up most of her fat by wearing her pants high on her waist, so she thought it looked good. She also tucked the very front of her dress shirt (the parts right below where you’re supposed to button the first button) into the front of her pants so the two pieces of fabric were overlapping. This made the shirt hang loosely at the sides and cover up the little bit of fat you could still see while still exposing her midriff. Then she grabbed a dark purple velvet scrunchie and put her hair up in a messy bun. The bowler smiled at herself in the mirror until she caught a glimpse of the scars that were littered from the back of her right hand to about the middle of her forearm. She quickly looked away and grabbed her bowling glove from her end table. After positioning it correctly, she tightened up the straps on the glove and looked back in the mirror. Perfect. 

Eshima looked at the time again. It was now 7:55. If she hurried, she could probably grab a granola bar from the dining hall to eat on the way to class. She grabbed her black book bag which had a bowling pin keychain dangling from one of the zippers, prayed to whatever god may be out there that she wasn’t forgetting anything, then set out of her dorm room towards the dining hall (which was conveniently in the same direction as the class rooms). 

Though she was kind of in a rush, she didn’t panic and walked only slightly above her normal speed. She wasn’t one to worry or overthink things too much. She hated overwhelming herself more than anything. The bowler knew from past experience that stressing out like that will only drive you crazy. Eshima didn’t want that experience again. 

Once she made it to the dining hall she headed to a bowl on the counter which was filled to the brim with chocolate chip granola bars. Usually she’d get the occasional look from upperclassman about her… peculiar fashion choices. Though, Eshima didn’t care. She was comfortable, and that’s what’s most important to her in fashion. Anyways, she knew the looks weren’t out of hate or disgust. More so curious. Mostly as to why she always chooses to wear her bowling glove everyday, the rest of her outfit is just an afterthought. She likes wearing her clothes like that. Plain and simple.

Though there is a reason for the bowling glove. One she will probably never admit to anyone other than her Great Aunt, and even then she would never say the full extent of it. When people ask about her glove, Eshima always brushes them off saying that it’s for the “bowler’s aesthetic” or she cracks a joke about how she’s bowled so much that it’s permanently attached to her wrist. Lies. All of them. She  _ hates _ wearing this glove all the time. She honestly hates it, but she needs some way to cover up the scars on her arm.

Eshima’s parents never cared much about her. They didn’t hate her nor like her, they just wanted to be rid of her and be able to do what they wanted. Their solution was to constantly leave Eshima with her Great Aunt and Uncle. Since her Great Uncle was usually at work most of the day, Eshima would mostly be with her Great Aunt Mari, who was also a bowler. Since Mari would always take Eshima to her leagues to watch, she got introduced to the sport at a very young age and as soon as Eshima started expressing interest in it, Mari didn’t hesitate to double as her parental figure and bowling coach.

Eshima signed up for leagues and tournaments, usually winning and making her name known in the bowling community. She traveled around the world to go to these tournaments, inspiring her love for travel. Her Great Aunt was always by her side as the one person in her life who would never abandon her. As much as Eshima enjoyed traveling and bowling at tournaments, she didn’t care much for the money or fame. She was just happy to do the thing she loves.

Although throughout Eshima’s life, as much as Mari admired her, she didn’t get the same admiration from her Great Uncle Ryou. He was angry that he and his wife were always taking care of a kid that wasn’t even theirs. Though Ryou wasn’t mad at Eshima’s parents for always giving her to them. He was mad at Eshima for always wanting to come back and “taking advantage” of their kindness. Even though Eshima always did her best to try to repay her Great Aunt and Uncle by working part time jobs to help pay bills.

Then, a little less than a year before she got accepted into Hope’s Peak, she and her Great Uncle had, to put it in the best terms, a physical conflict. Eshima had been cleaning her bowling balls in the kitchen sink when Ryou had walked in. He told her he needed to use the sink and Eshima said that she’ll be done in just a minute and she’ll stop after she was done with that ball. Though Eshima was being more than reasonable, her Great Uncle had gotten pissed. He grabbed her hand and yanked her away from the sink before pulling a knife on her. Eshima… didn’t like to think of what happened next but eventually her Great Aunt had come home from an errand she was running and saw this take place. She yelled at her husband to get away from Eshima and was ready to call the cops on him before Eshima stopped her.

Eshima knew most of their money came from him and the job he worked, and while Eshima did want him away from her after that, she knew it was best that Ryou stayed and continued providing for Mari. Eshima ended up lying to the doctors about how she got her wounds. She said it was a cooking accident. After that she always wore some kind of glove to cover up her scars. Even though it was slightly uncomfortable being unable to bend her wrist, it would make some sense for the Ultimate Bowling Pro to be wearing a bowling glove, so not many questions were asked by her peers. 

In the months following the incident with her Great Uncle she stayed at her parents house a lot more. While she hated it there, she didn’t feel safe in her Great Aunt’s house as long as he was there. Then after a few months, Ryou died. Eshima’s Great Uncle was dead. When she heard the news she felt relieved, and she felt terrible that she was! She was glad the person who supported her Great Aunt was dead! Even though he was a bad person, Eshima hated knowing that she was happy about her Great Uncle’s death, which was why she could never let anyone know about those scars she hides under her bowling glove. It would probably ruin her life.

Eshima made it to the bowl of granola bars and picked two up. One for now, and one that she slid in her bag for later. She often got hungry throughout the day and that extra granola bar would help her last until lunch. 

She also got herself a bottle of water that she put into her bag. Once she zipped it up she exited the dining hall and walked towards class. It was 8:00 now. If she hurried, she’d be able to make it to class on time. She picked up her pace a little more, not in the mood to be late that day. 

The bowler left the dorm building and walked along the concrete path in the direction of the academy. Along the way she said “hi” to a few people she knew, both Ultimates and Reserve Corps students that she’s talked to on some occasions. Eshima didn’t have many standards when it came to the people she hung out with. As long as Eshima felt happy when she was around them, that’s all that mattered. 

By the time she made it to the academy building it was 8:07. Her classroom was on one of the higher floors, so she prayed that there was an open elevator. Thankfully, there was one already on the first floor and it had no one in it. She stepped into it but just as it was about to close a student from another class (upperclassman) burst through the front doors and ran for the elevator. Eshima knew that if she held the door she’d be late, since this particular upperclassman, Eshima knew, had to report to a room on a floor lower than her own. Neither the less she stuck her arm out the door to stop the elevator from closing so the boy could get on. He muttered a “thanks” and hit the floor he needed to go to. Yep, Eshima was going to be late.

When she reached her floor (thankfully no one but the other boy had gotten into the elevator) it was 8:10. She power walked to her class that wasn’t that far away from the elevator. Maybe she could make it right on time afterall. She found her classroom and walked in. Checking the time, she saw that it was 8:11.  _ Damn it, just past 8:10 _ . Though she wasn’t that upset. It was only a minute. She probably wouldn’t get written up for that. Especially since she saw that she wasn’t the last one there, but third to last. The two other people missing were boyfriends. Eshima smirked when the possibilities of what they could have been doing rushed into her head. 

She plopped down in her seat near the back of the classroom and solemnly took out her notebook. The bowler prefered the back seat. She wasn’t a big fan of schoolwork and the back seat enabled her to have more freedom. Like talking to her peers or going on her phone to text online friends. Though today was a bit different, since the headmaster had walked into the classroom instead of their normal teacher and started giving them a lecture on talent and how they’re the “future hope of all humanity.”

Eshima slouched over the desk and held up her head in her palm, rolling her eyes. “Hope” was exaggerating it way too much. At least in her case. Everyone else in the room had such great talents. Ones that were  _ important _ . As much as Eshima absolutely  _ loved _ bowling, ever since she had gotten accepted into Hope’s Peak she felt different about the overall “greatness” of her “talent”. It wasn’t important. Not even that many people  _ cared _ about bowling. It’s definitely not going to turn into some big “hope” for the world. 

Eshima had always been trying to find different things to do in substitute of bowling. First it was gaming, then it was singing, then it was video editing, and so on. While she did enjoy some of these things and continue to do some of them to this day, she didn’t feel like…  _ pursuing  _ them. It just felt a bit wrong. She kept on trying though. Right now, her current “obsession” was writing. So here she was in the back of the classroom, turned to an open page in the back of her notebook, trying to come up with ideas for stories. After staring at it for 30 minutes, the only word she had wrote down was ‘Magic’. Damn, coming up with a plot was  _ hard _ . And it’s not like she would really know what a good plotline would be. She rarely ever read just for the fun of it, and if she did it was usually either some kind of comic or manga or it was a fanfiction. 

Why choose writing then, you may ask? Simple. It seemed interesting. That was usually the motivation behind all of her mini obsessions. Being a singer seemed  _ interesting _ . It would be  _ interesting _ to be able to edit videos and post them online. She knew she wouldn’t be good at some of the stuff she tried, but as she always said, you just have to find out for yourself. 

When the bell rang and the kids were all meant to be working on their own individual talents, Eshima packed up her stuff quickly and headed out the door, thankful that the hour and a half was over. While most people headed to different rooms on campus or out to the sports complex, Eshima’s schedule involved her going back to her dorm room to pick up her bowling equipment then heading off campus to the local bowling alley not too far away from the school. She had a special pass that allowed her to go outside the school at certain times during regular school hours. As long as Eshima was back before lunch, she was free to go outside to do anything related to her Ultimate talent (though sometimes she sneaked off to have ice cream at the parlor across the street from the alley, but nobody needed to know that). 

Once she made it to her dorm she went straight to her closet and opened it. Except for the suit and dress that she kept hanging on the side in case she needed to dress up, it was almost entirely dedicated to her bowling equipment. Her closet was one of the only things that she kept organized, as it was a pretty decent sized space and she had  _ a lot _ of bowling stuff. Each of the three shelves in there had a different category of equipment. One was filled with a bunch of spray bottles with pink liquid in them (bowling ball cleaners), rags stacked up next to them, and a couple of paper towel rolls. Another shelf had packs of bowling tape and a few replacement rosin bags for when she ran out. It also had a couple of different gloves, each providing a different function. The last shelf had a pair of bowling shoes and replaceable soles laying next to them. The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was a medium sized gray safe hanging on the wall. A certain student at school had a…  _ habit  _ of picking locks, so when she was gone she’d usually store all her important valuables in there (though she didn’t have many “valuables” other than her computer and phone).

Below the shelves on the wall there was another sort of shelving unit. This one was made up of boxes, two going up and four boxes in each row. Each square housed a different bowling ball. She had one plastic ball, two light hookers, two medium, and three heavy duty ones. With each of the different types of hookers, at least one of them was a pearl-reactive ball. Eshima liked to have a variety. Though it may seem small compared to other pro’s arsonals, it was all she needed to get great scores. 

Hanging from a rack above everything else was a selection of bowling jerseys that she either got from tournaments or bought herself. She looked through them until she found the one she wanted to wear that day. It was pretty simple compared to the other ones. The front was colored purple while the rest of it was black, and it had the company’s logo on the left side of the chest. She took off her dress shirt and t-shirt and put on the jersey. She left the t-shirt laying on her bed so she could change back into it before lunch, but she slid the dress shirt back on over the jersey without buttoning it, since it was part of her uniform. Eshima always choose to wear it unbuttoned. It  _ had  _ caused some problems between her and the teachers at first, but once they found that it wasn’t technically against the dress code, they couldn’t bother her about it. 

Since Eshima was going bowling she didn’t style her clothes like she usually did. She didn’t tie up her jersey or tuck in the front of her dress shirt. All she did to modify her look was put her hair in a tight ponytail so it wouldn’t get in her way while bowling. 

She then grabbed her bowling bag, which could hold three balls along with some equipment inside. She grabbed one of each type of hooker (not the pearl-reactive ones) and placed them in the bag, along with a rag, a rosin bag, and a pack of bowling tape. Eshima also grabbed a soft black bowling bag and put her plastic one in it. She placed it on top of the other bag and tied the straps securely to the handle so it wouldn’t fall. Then after emptying some of her schoolbag’s contents (mostly just her notebooks and such), she put her phone and money in the bag, put it on, grabbed all her stuff, and headed out the door.

Once she got to the gates of the school Eshima flashed her ‘permission to leave school grounds’ pass at the security guard on duty and he opened the gates for her. It was only a five minute walk to the bowling alley so it wasn’t much of a hassle, but when you’re dragging along 70 pounds of equipment behind you, it could be kind of tedious. At least this was better than that time in Manhattan where she couldn’t get a hotel near the bowling alley so she had to drag all of her stuff through the busy streets until she could find a cab to hail. That hadn’t been a very fun experience. 

After Eshima made it to the bowling alley she went to the front desk to ask for a lane. Her being the Ultimate Bowling Pro meant that she gets to bowl for free due to Hope’s Peak’s talent program, so she showed the lady at the desk her student ID and she was immediately directed towards a lane on the more deserted side of the building. Not many people were over there so she would be able to practice in peace.

She took her stuff over to her lane and put all of her bowling balls on the rack. Before she did anything else Eshima reached into her bag and pulled out the granola bar and water bottle that she put in there earlier. She checked the time. She had two and a half hours until she had to get back to Hope’s Peak for lunch. Taking a bite of her granola bar, she thought about how she  _ really _ wasn’t in the mood to practice for more than an hour and a half. Eshima sighed. She’ll see how she feels after that time. 

After finishing the granola bar and taking a few sips of water, she finished setting up her equipment. She put tape on her fingers (because lord knows that if you bowl as often as she does, you  _ constantly _ get blisters and they are  _ painful _ ) and put on her shoes. She also took off her dress shirt and hung it on one of the chairs. Eshima didn’t want that to get in her way. When she stepped up to the rack she picked her strike ball; a medium hooker. She started her approach.

Eshima had what other people would call a “weird” way of bowling. Usually a right-handed bowler would end off with their left foot. Even though Eshima was a righty, she would end with her right foot. She’s been told throughout the years by multiple people that ending like that would weaken her approach, though she didn’t care about that. She bowled well.  _ Exceptionally _ well, judging on her place in life. She’s not going to change what she’s been doing for years on end for no reason.

On her first roll she got a nine with the ten pin still standing. She grabbed her plastic ball and moved all the way to the left of her lane. Another advantage she got from bowling the way she does is that it’s way easier to get pins that are all the way on the right side of the lane. She did her approach again and this time when she released the ball she practically flung it across the lane. It took down the pin.

After about an hour and a half when she was starting to feel tired, Eshima had bowled 12 games, each with a score over 200. Her highest for the day was 287. They didn’t call her the Ultimate Bowling Pro for nothing. 

Checking the time again, she saw that she had an hour until she needed to be on Hope’s Peak grounds. What was she in the mood for… Oh! She could  _ really _ go for a cup of coffee at the moment. Last night Eshima was up late on voice call with her online friends. Thank goodness the dorm rooms were all soundproofed. If they weren’t she’d probably have gotten loads of complaints from her neighbors about her late night chats. 

After packing up her stuff and putting her dress shirt back on, she took all her stuff to the front desk and asked them if she could leave her bowling bag behind the counter for a little while, since she didn’t have a locker. She should really look into getting one. When she was growing up she never got a locker anywhere since she was always going to different bowling alleys. Her Great Aunt saw it as a waste when she had a car and a space to keep all her equipment in the house. 

The lady at the desk said yes and Eshima rolled her bag behind the counter. After saying thank you she adjusted her school bag on her shoulders and walked out the door. Eshima knew there was a coffee shop two blocks away. She took her time walking, looking into each of the shops she past. There was a new comic out that looked interesting in the window of a bookstore, and she saw a cute pair of jeans on the rack in a clothes store. Even though she was never really one to wear jeans, she still had to admit she wanted to try them on. Once she got close to the coffee shop she was able to spot a park a couple of blocks over. Wow. She realized she never really got the chance to enjoy the sights around Hope’s Peak. She definitely needed to come back and explore around. Maybe she’ll be able to get out for a bit later…

The bell connected to the door chimed when Eshima stepped into the coffee shop. The place was kind of busy but not overpopulated. Perfect. Eshima went on line and waited for the two people in front of her to order before she was able to go up herself. 

The lady at the counter greeted her with a warm smile. She wore a green apron over her clothes and her name tag read Kat. Eshima didn’t know if it was a nickname or not, but she couldn’t help but feel relaxed with her presence. Well, it could also be that the whole shop smelled of cream and coffee, but it didn’t matter.

Eshima gave her a small smile back. “Hello, uh, can I get a coffee with, uh, cream and caramel?” Despite Eshima’s pauses in her speech, she still spoke relatively fast. At least faster than most people she knows. 

“Of course,” said Kat, “Anything else you’d like?”

Eshima shook her head. “No thanks.”

“Ok, that will be $3.35.”

Eshima fished through her wallet for the cash. All of her money was clutterly shoved into one of the pockets. Other than her money, all that was in her wallet was her student ID, her bowling congress card, and a picture of her and her Great Aunt. She scanned it over for a moment. They really could not look any more different. Eshima’s hair was originally black, Mari’s was brown. Eshima was more on the shorter side at 5’3” while her Great Aunt was taller than her by four inches. She really missed Mari and was worried about her, since Eshima often helped out to pay the bills on her house, but Eshima knew that she was happy for her. Mari had been  _ ecstatic _ when Eshima got her acceptance letter for Hope’s Peak High School. Though Eshima was excited too, she mostly came to Hope’s Peak as to not let Mari down. She didn’t think bowling was an important talent, but Mari was happy, so Eshima would also happily go so her Great Aunt could stay that way.

Eshima handed the cashier the money and as she grabbed it, Eshima noticed the cashier’s eyes look over at the symbol on her shirt. 

“Oh, you’re a student at Hope’s Peak?” The cashier asked. Eshima nodded. “Ooo! What’s your talent?”

“Oh, well I’m the Ultimate Bowling Pro.” Eshima replied nonchalantly.

“Oh, that’s so cool!” The cashier said, looking excited.

Eshima shrugged. “Eh, it’s not that big of a deal.” She didn’t like it much when people praised her over things that shouldn’t be praised. Like when she gets good scores in bowling. She feels like getting good scores should be the norm, so she doesn’t want to be praised for every strike or spare she does. High fives by teammates at the most, but that’s it. 

“Maybe to you it’s not, but I’ve always wanted a talent I could be recognized for.” She shrugged and smiled. “I guess not everyone could have something like that.” Then she handed Eshima her change and receipt. “Thank you for coming, have a good day!”

Eshima took her stuff and nodded. “Yeah, you too.” She took a seat on a stool near the window and started playing random games on her phone. She always did that to pass the time. Finally her coffee was done and was left on the counter for her to pick up. After going to get it she sat back down and blew on it, trying to cool it down. Once she thought it was safe to drink without burning her tongue off she took a few sips. Now she was in heaven. 

She sat around playing on her phone for a little while longer until she saw that she had 20 minutes to make it back to campus. Her coffee was halfway done and she suspected that she’d be able to finish before she made it back, so she got up and left the shop. She went back to the bowling alley to pick up her equipment, which was still behind the desk. After that she began her walk back to Hope’s Peak. She drank her coffee a bit quicker now. If security saw that she had bought a coffee they’d know that she wasn’t at the bowling alley the entire time. Sometimes Eshima suspected that Hope’s Peak called the bowling alley to ask what she was up to, but she knew she wouldn’t be ratted out. Eshima had made friends with the man in charge of the alley, and he understood how tiring bowling could be sometimes, so he agreed to cover for her if she were to ever go out somewhere else for a little while. Eshima was really thankful to him. Maybe she should get him something…

When Eshima had gotten close to Hope’s Peak she gulped down the rest of her coffee and threw the cup away in a nearby trash can. Once she did she picked up the pace a bit, thinking that she might be late. When she got to the gates of Hope’s Peak she flashed her pass again at the security guard and he opened the gates. Eshima got back to her room and looked at the clock. She smirked. Five minutes to spare. 

She put her bowling bag on the side of her bed for now. She’ll put everything away later. For now she grabbed the t-shirt that was still lying where she left it on the bed and changed back into it, throwing her jersey on the bed instead. After slipping on her dress shirt she was able to style her clothes the way she wanted to. Eshima tied her shirt up so it looked like a crop top and tucked the front part of her dress shirt into her pants. After adjusting her glove and changing her hair so it was back in a messy bun , she put her phone in the front pocket of her pants and walked out of her room towards the dining hall. 

Other than the students whos talent involved kitchen work, Eshima was usually one of the first people there, since she always came straight from the dorms. There were also some others she saw already sitting at tables and Eshima’s best guess was that they had also ended early because they were tired, since most of them also had athletic talents. Eshima went up to the counter to get herself a burger and fries. 

She walked over to a table where some kids were sitting and sat a little bit away from them, pulling out her phone. Don’t get her wrong, she’s not antisocial, not at all. She rather enjoys talking to people. Though there are some days where she just wants to have lunch and catch up with her group of online friends.

_ Bowling G O D: _ Yooo anyone here 

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.: _ Heyyy whats up

_ Bowling G O D: _ Eh nothing much just bored as hell at lunch 

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.: _ Oof me everyday. At least you have friends lmao

_ Bowling G O D: _ (・о・) So then who am I to you

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.: _ The person who beat my ass in cup pong last night

Eshima laughed. The person accusing her of beating his ass (though she totally did) was named Ferris. No, he was not  _ the _ Ferris Bueller, as cool as that would be. He’s just been completely obsessed with the movie ever since Eshima introduced him to it. Though sometimes he wished he was. He’s always said he wanted a more interesting life.

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ Oh great,  _ another _ thing Eshima’s excelled at. Now what’re you gonna be, the “Ultimate Game Pigeon Master”?

_ Bowling G O D: _ Well I have been looking for a new talent… (゜。゜)

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Maddie stop giving her ideas

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ Never

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ I know where you live

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ We live in the same house, that threat doesn’t work on me

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Ill steal your phone

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ You  _ wouldn’t _

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Im right in the room next to you, yes I would

Maddie and Ferris are twins and they both live in Brooklyn, New York. They’re only two years younger than Eshima, being fourteen years old. While Ferris was usually calm and collected, Maddie had a more frantic personality. They each like to think of the other as insufferable, though they wouldn’t admit (as least from what Eshima’s seen) that they really do love each other. 

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ Mom would end you tho if she heard you get up.

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Ferris, please don’t get yourself annihilated by your mother.

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Hmph. Fine t(=n=)

Eshima often forgets that New York is 13 hours behind Japan. Mostly because Maddie and Ferris usually stay up till ungodly hours of the night (well, their night). Mostly just so they can talk to their friends in other countries.

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Thank you.

_ Bowling G O D:  _ Heyyy dad what’s up?

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Nothin much, you?

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ DAD!!!!! (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ・‥…━━━★

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Hey Maddie.

Despite the extremely suggestive username and being only seventeen, Cameron was probably the most mature out of the group, earning him the title of “Server Dad”. Everyone called him that. Though one day Maddie had jokingly called him “daddy” on call and someone changed Cameron’s username (they still don’t know who to this day). No one would let him change it back after that. Eshima still remembered the day they were all on call while his girlfriend was over his house. She took one look at Cameron’s username and asked who in the server had a daddy kink. They all accused Ferris.

_ Bowling G O D:  _ Just sittin here at school. Ended bowling an hour early to get a cup of coffee. Hopefully it keeps me going the whole day after that Game Pigeon tournament we had last night

_ Bowling G O D:  _ Speaking of which (｀ω´)

Eshima exited out of the messaging app they were using and went through her contacts. Everyone in their group had each other’s phone number. She tapped on the contact labeled  _ Dad (Cameron)  _ and sent him an invite for cup pong.

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Oh you are going down.

_ Bowling G O D:  _ I’d like to see you try

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Dad I think Maddies trying to kill me

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ I heard her door close and footsteps going down to the kitchen

_ Bowling G O D:  _ I’d run if I were you

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Mom would  _ end me _

She got a ping on her phone and she saw that Cameron had cleared four cups.

_ Bowling G O D:  _ Fuck you 

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Wut

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ She’s talking to me ┐(´～｀)┌

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Dad h e l p m e

Eshima clicked on her cup pong notification from Cameron. She ended up getting three cups.  _ Damn it _ . She hit send and went back to the messenger. It seemed all hell had broken loose in the two minutes she was gone. 

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ I would if I could afford to travel from Canada to New York in a split second. Sadly we as a human race don’t possess the technology needed to be capable of traveling around like we’re a Super Mario 64 speed runner on steroids.

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Well if that happened wed all just glitch out till we die

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Fair point

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ Oh trust me Ferris if it wasn’t so cliche for a sister to kill her own brother you’d be dead by now

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Oh wow thats  _ very  _ reassuring 

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ I just went to get some brownies from the fridge (＾ω＾)

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ (⊙ᗜ⊙) I want brownies!!!!!! 

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ Cool. Get them yourself 

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ But you already have give some to me!!!!

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ You think I’m gonna risk going into your room??? (ﾟдﾟ；) Oh, hELL nah

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ You went downstairs and now youre saying you can’t come into my room? Fuck you

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ Fuck you

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Ha who’s the boss now Eshima. 〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜   
  


_ Bowling G O D:  _ Fuck you too

_ Old Uncle Joe:  _ wtf did I just wake up to

_ Bowling G O D:  _ A four front war zone

Saying that  _ everyone  _ called Cameron “dad” would be a lie. Joseph, or as they call him, Uncle Joe, was the eldest of the bunch. He was twenty years old and lived in London. His college was a far distance from his house and he couldn’t afford to dorm, which is why he got up at 5:30 in the morning everyday so he could make it to his early classes. All in all, he was a very tired computer major who was seemingly done with life, though he still decided to put up with the little shits he calls his online friends. He  _ has _ admitted more than once that they were the ones keeping him sane. Even so, more than once he’s had the pleasure (or displeasure) of waking up to one of Eshima’s lunchtime chats, which is usually more than enough to make one man go crazy.

_ Old Uncle Joe:  _ not even surprised anymore. did u guys ever finish that tournament yesterday

_ Bowling G O D:  _ Yep~

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Fuck you

_ Bowling G O D:  _ I won

_ Old Uncle Joe:  _ figured that by ferrys early responce 

She got another ping from Cameron saying that he cleared another five cups.  _ Howwwww??? _

_ Bowling G O D:  _ Dad I h a t e you

_ Old Uncle Joe:  _ oi why we hatin on cammy now 

_ Bowling G O D:  _ He’s beating me at cup pong

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ ↑_(ΦwΦ;)Ψ

_ Old Uncle Joe:  _ ok now that he used that emote u have a valid reason to hate

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Uncle  _ Joeeeee _ .

_ Old Uncle Joe:  _ nope. eshi has a motive. this is war

Joe has nicknames for everyone in the server, usually ending in the “e” sound. Though since Maddie’s name already sounds like that, he calls her “Mad”. Which suits her, since she  _ is _ mad most of the time. 

Eshima had cleared one cup, but when she went for the other one a loud sound startled her and caused her hand to slip, making her miss. She looked around and saw the people who were still in the dining hall getting up and throwing out their trays.  _ Aw, damn it _ . Clicking on the messenger, she went to say goodbye to her friends, and goodnight to the twins and Cameron, who were probably getting ready to go to sleep soon. She knew the twins would stay up for a while longer, but she hoped they fall asleep soon. 

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Update: I raided Maddies room and stole some brownies. Mission accomplished (￣︶￣;)

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ I hate you 

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Feelings mutual

_ Bowling G O D:  _ Gtg the bell just rang. End me now (;´Д｀)

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ RIP

_ Bowling G O D:  _ Gn guys who live in NA

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ Ye! Ttyl later when we wake up（*＾3＾）

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ If we even sleep at all

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ Good point

_ Old Uncle Joe:  _ night kids

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ We are n O t kiDs ꒪ꄱ꒪

_ Old Uncle Joe:  _ well ur six years younger so to me u r

_ eshima stop flexing on us:  _ e X C U S E ? ? ? (`A´)

Eshima decided to leave the conversation then because she did  _ not _ want to get caught up in that argument. Only two people hadn’t taken part in the conversation. One was Charlotte, who was a few months younger than Eshima. She lived in Colorado and even though it was still relatively early where she lived (about 10:30p.m), she always went to sleep way earlier than the rest of the group. Eshima could only talk to her at night because of that. She’s kind of a goody-two-shoes, but she knows when to loosen up and Eshima was glad she did. Life isn’t fun if you let everyone else’s expectations decide everything for you. 

The other person currently missing from the chat was a girl named Alisa. She also lived in the United Kingdom, but was still sleeping since school started at 8:00 for her and she didn’t need to get up for another two hours. Easily the clown of the group, she’s eighteen and in her final year of college. She’s not too sure what she wants to do once she does finish, but her friends have all told her to become a stand-up comedian. 

Eshima got up from her seat and threw out her tray. She finished her food a while ago, but was too absorbed in the conversation to get up and go back to her dorm for the remainder of the period. With only ten minutes until her next class she didn’t have anymore time to sit and relax. She entered her room only to quickly put her books back in her bag. After doing so she put it on her shoulders and headed towards the school building for the second time that day.

The bowler really did love her friends. She loved them with all her heart. They had all met online two years ago and they really helped Eshima. She never had many friends growing up because of her constant traveling and practice schedule. The ones she did have were only able to hang out with her during school, but then while on break or during one of Eshima’s trips they’d drift apart. After meeting her online friends, the ones who would eventually name themselves The Squa, she finally could proudly say that she’s found her family. Their server on the messaging app they use was her virtual home. Eshima wouldn’t give them up for the world, and she knew that the rest of them felt the same. 

Eshima was just glad she was fluent in English so she could talk to her friends. Her Great Aunt had grown up in many different places, including the United States, so she was able to teach Eshima English and other languages when she was really young. It also helped knowing foreign languages when you travel around so much. Eshima was fluent in English, Japannese, Italian, and Mandarin, though she also knew enough Spanish to get by and some French.

When she entered the classroom Eshima took her usual seat near the back. She took out her books and stacked them on top of each other. Once the teacher started the lesson and was no longer paying attention to what the students were doing, Eshima pulled out her phone and hid it from view behind the books. There were still notifications coming from the messenger app, but she saw one unopened message from Cameron. It was the game saying that Cameron had won cup pong. 

_ Dad (Cameron): _ Ha, take that! (/-o-)/ ⌒ ┤

Eshima rolled her eyes. Cameron always seemed so mature and collected, but when you approach him with a challenge his childish side really starts to show.

_ Me: _ Yeah, yeah, rub it in

_ Me: _ Anyways you up for another round? I’m bored and in class and we need a rematch because  _ obviously _ this isn’t a proper representation of the skill level between us

_ Dad (Cameron): _ ( ￣ー￣) You just can’t admit that I’m better. 

_ Me: _ Pfffft whaaaaaat, no (ﾟдﾟ)

_ Dad (Cameron): _ If we kept going you’d just make me play until you win.

_ Me: _ Ha no

_ Me: _ But even so I would still win in the first rematch (○ﾟε^○)

Eshima could deny it all she wants, but she still knew deep down. She secretly loved winning. As nonchalant she tries to act every time she wins a competition she is secretly thrilled to come out on top (less nonchalant when it’s between her and her internet friends, but it’s more so to the point of friendly teasing). Though she mostly kept these feelings to herself, since she didn’t want to seem like someone who liked to knock down and degrade others, because that was far from the truth. She just liked when she ended up on top.

_ Dad (Cameron):  _ Oh cocky now, aren’t ya?

_ Dad (Cameron): _ Well as much as I’d  _ love _ to keep going with this（￣ε￣）I’m on the verge of passing out. I’m hitting the hay. 

_ Dad (Cameron): _ Ttyl. 

_ Me: _ Gn dad!（＾Ｏ＾☆♪

Eshima debated on texting Joe, since he was the only person who should be awake at the moment (well the twins would be awake too, but they usually play Splatoon 2 when it gets to be late at night and they don’t answer their phones for anything). She decided against it though and put her phone away. As much as she’d love to be able to stay on her phone all day, she was still  _ at school _ and she should at least _ try _ to pay attention. Besides it was only… She checked the time.  _ Ugh _ , another hour until they were free to go. Still, Eshima made herself focus on the lesson (since this time it was actually educational) and agonizingly waited for the hour to be over.

As long as the wait seemed, the blessed moment of the bell ringing finally came, and Eshima let out a sigh of relief. All she wanted to do at the moment was leave campus and walk around the town, but she had to wait another 30 minutes, since the earliest they let them leave was 3:00. What to do… 

Eshima decided to head back to her dorm to kill time. It was a rather simple layout. A twin sized bed and a nightstand were up against the back wall. The nightstand held many little things, like Eshima’s mortal enemy (her alarm clock) and a mini lamp. Laying inside the drawer were a couple of writing pads (to be used for anything), some pens and pencils, and her earbuds.

There were also some photos stacked up in the back of the drawer. The first one was a picture of her and her Great Aunt, a larger version of the one in her wallet. The others were pictures of her and some of her online friends. Due to her travels, she was actually able to meet a lot of them in real life. A couple of months after they all met Eshima had to go to New York for a tournament. She was able to meet the twins then, and she also went back a year later, so there were two photos of them all together. Another one showed her and Joe smiling at the camera. About a year ago she had met him on another trip she took to London. Then during the same trip, she and Joe took a day to go north so they could see Alisa as well, which was the fourth and last photo in the drawer. 

They all made an agreement that once Cameron turned 18 and he could travel by himself, everyone would make arrangements to go to New York so they could all be together at the same time. Eshima could already travel by herself. Even though she usually went places with her Great Aunt, Eshima has gone traveling by herself when she couldn’t get days off. Charlotte is also not of age yet, but her parents have already said they’d trust her to travel by herself. Being a goody-two-shoes really did have its perks sometimes.

Also in Eshima’s room was a large desk against another wall that housed her computer, two speakers, some gaming controllers, her Nintendo Switch, and better quality headphones with a mic built in. She loved to game and though she couldn’t see herself pursuing it as a career, she often plays both by herself and with friends whenever she gets the chance. Often people came over to her dorm to play Mario Kart and other multiplayer games. 

Hanging on the wall above the computer were a bunch of awards Eshima had received for bowling. Medals were cluttered on hooks and plaques littered parts of the wall. There was also a shelf running along the length of the wall which had trophies lined up on it. All from different leagues and tournaments she’s bowled in. 

A TV was also set up on the opposite wall from her bed. It was already there when Eshima moved in, as it was in everyone else’s. She didn’t watch much TV, choosing to revert to games and friends most of the time, but she would still find herself tuning in to watch some of her favorite shows. Mostly reruns of old English shows, like Drake & Josh, which was easily one of her favorites.

Then on the other side of the room there was a bookshelf and a locker next to it. The bookshelf had a selection of manga and comic books, which were usually the only things she liked to read. There were some exceptions though. If Eshima really liked something and she heard that it was either inspired by or had inspired a novel, she’ll be willing to read it. So among the comics you’ll see titles such as Be More Chill, Ready Player One, and Percy Jackson (even though after reading it she realized the movie was trash compared to the book). There was also merchandise for different games and movies such as Splatoon and Gremlins on the shelves. And of course, there was a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off poster hanging on the side of the bookshelf. 

The locker was kept unlocked for the most part and was mostly there because Eshima liked the thought of having a locker in her room (aside from the one in the closet which is used solely to hide stuff). In it was a variety of things, including a microphone, some art supplies, and a wig or two. It was mostly just a collection of things she got in an effort to find something other than bowling to do. While she didn’t want to pursue those things, she still kept everything in case she ever wanted to try and go back to it. 

Eshima was glad that she was into a variety of things. A lot of people she knew in this school basically identify themselves with their talent at this point. They do nothing but work on improving and they leave no room for variety or fun. It’s like they’re stuck. Eshima never liked the idea of holing herself up in a bowling alley to do the same thing over and over and over. Maybe other people’s situations were different and they had different kinds of talents, but they were still kids. This was the time to live their life. Not waste it away being a slave to their field of work. Eshima thought it was just sad.

She spotted her bowling bag still sitting on the side of her bed and thought that she should probably put her stuff away. Eshima grabbed all of the equipment from her bag except her bowling balls and took them back to the closet. After putting them in the right place, she picked out one of the spray bottles and a rag and took it back to her bag. Since she had time to kill and nothing else she felt like doing, she figured she should at least get something productive done. Eshima took out all of her bowling balls from the bag and laid them out. She started cleaning each of them individually.

By the time she was done and had put them back in her closet it was already 3:05. At least she didn’t have to wait around doing nothing. She grabbed her black mini backpack, which she put her wallet and earbuds in, and left her dorm after making sure her phone was still in her pocket.

When she got to the front gates this time they were already open. Though before you left you had to check in with security and sign out, which was no problem. All they said was to be back by 8:00 the latest and they let her go. 

Once Eshima got farther away from Hope’s Peak and closer to the bowling alley she started to enter the shopping district again, though now she took her time looking at every store and the things around her. It was the traveler in her. She always felt the need to explore every part of an area she’s in. 

She’s always loved traveling. Being somewhere new and doing new things always excited her. And even though she’s been at Hope’s Peak for a few months now, she’s never gone any farther than the bowling alley until earlier that day. She should have, but she was so wrapped up in making new friends and keeping up with old ones and trying to find things to pursue that it just… slipped her mind. 

As Eshima walked through the district she stopped into a few shops that looked interesting along the way, including the clothing store where she saw that cute pair of jeans earlier. She was looking through the racks of clothes thinking about what she would like to try on when she realized that this would be much more fun with someone with her. Since most (if not all) of her travels were to compete in bowling tournaments, she’s only ever been places with her Great Aunt and never with a friend. Except for when she’s meets up with online friends. Honestly, those were probably the best days of her life. She was able to walk around and talk with them while they fool around in a store or go to get ice cream. Eshima never really got the chance to do that before. And now that she’s at a school where going away to competitions or other events was the norm, maybe her friendships wouldn’t fall out... because they’d  _ understand _ . 

Eshima smiled at the thought. Though for now, she was fine walking around on her own. It gave her a chance to appreciate the area for herself. And maybe she just might buy that pair of jeans… 

After she walked out of the clothes store with her wallet $25 lighter and a bag in her hand, she continued to walk farther from Hope’s Peak and into the unknown. Eshima walked down another block and spotted a cute little bakery on the corner. She could really go for a muffin. She headed towards the shop and went inside.

It was a fairly small place. Inside there was only a register, a display case showing off all their treats, and a couple of tables set up. Eshima inferred there was probably an area to bake everything, but it was probably in the back away from the view of customers. She scanned the seating area and found that every one of the tables was being occupied. Though at one of the tables she recognised a couple from Hope’s Peak. They also recognised her and they both waved. Eshima smiled waved back, then went to look at the display case. She didn’t want to interrupt their date.

She scanned the case for a chocolate chip muffin and she found it, but right next to it was a jumbo chocolate chip cookie that looked _ really _ good. She kept looking between the treats, not knowing which one to choose since they both looked so good. After a minute of debating, she ultimately choose to get them both. She’d probably save the cookie for later though. 

She went up to the counter. The person at the register, according to his nametag, was named Danny. After telling the cashier her order, Eshima took out enough money to pay for it all and handed it to him. He gave her gloved hand a weird look, but took the money and handed Eshima back her change. He then put the two items she ordered into a bag and handed that to her too. Eshima told him to have a good day before taking the bag and leaving. 

It was getting to be about 5:00 already and Eshima didn’t want to head back already, so she decided to look for the park she saw earlier that day near the coffee shop. It ended up not being hard to find. She only had to walk another five blocks until she was there. She entered the park and walked down the trail until she found an area with a lot of benches, then sat down at one and opened her bag of goodies. She decided to have the muffin now, since she was originally planning to just get that. She pulled off the muffin liner and started eating.

Sitting there reminded her of the times she went to New York and hung out at Central Park. New York City was easily her favorite place she’s been so far. There were all sorts of things to do and see and so many places to explore. Not just in Manhattan, but in all the five boroughs. You could never get bored in the city that never sleeps. 

A fly flew up in Eshima’s face and she swatted it away. She wasn’t the biggest fan of bugs and such, though most of the time she tried not to mind them. If they didn’t bother her, she didn’t bother them. Plain and simple. But she wouldn’t hesitate to try and kill them if they ever got in her room.

Eshima sighed as she ate. She wouldn’t mind moving to New York. Honestly, she wouldn’t mind moving to a bunch of different places, but New York would be at the top of her list. Though she’s in no rush, and she has no real motive to leave Japan. She just likes the thought of going somewhere new. Which, she supposes, is why she loves traveling so much. Anyways, she still has high school to finish and lord knows she’s definitely not going to move while she’s here. In fact, she might not move at all. She might just keep those places as travel locations. Though, only time could tell what’ll happen in the future. She’ll just have to wait and see for herself. 

Once she finished her muffin she put the bag with the cookie in her book bag, got up and threw the muffin lining away in the trash can. It was about 5:50 at the moment and she had a while before she had to get back to school, but she still headed back in that direction anyways since she didn’t want to spend much more money. A few minutes later when she passed by the bowling alley, she remembered how she wanted to get something for it’s owner. Eshima looked around for a store that seemed interesting. She spotted a gift shop across the street and crossed it to go in.

After searching through the store for a while she reached the back and saw shelves full of graphic mugs. She scanned the shelves looking for a good mug, then she spotted one that said “Rock & Roll” with a picture of a rolling bowling ball underneath. _Perfect_. Eshima picked that up along with his favorite candy (M&M’s) and paid for it. She carefully put it into her bookbag and headed back to Hope’s Peak. 

She signed back in with the security guard once she reached the gates and headed back to the dorm building. On the way she saw another couple holding hands and walking through the grounds. Eshima smiled at them. She was glad they were happy together. Personally, she didn’t have an opinion on dating. She didn’t have a crush at the moment, but if she did get one, that’d be cool too. She didn’t stress about it. She didn’t stress much about anything to be honest.

When Eshima got back to her dorm she put her bag down on her desk and immediately flopped down on her bed. She was tired from walking around all day. Before her head it the pillow she was able to see that it was 7:20. She had a lot of fun, but once she was by herself her exhaustion would catch up on her and she’d get hit with a wave of tiredness. Her eyes started to close and Eshima gave into sleep.

She woke up about 4 hours later. Looking out the window, she saw that the sky outside was pitch black, except for the occasional white dot which marked either a star or an airplane. After sitting up she realized she fell asleep in her day clothes. She even fell asleep with her  _ glove _ still on, and she never liked to wear that thing for longer than she had to. She took it off and placed it on her nightstand. She grabbed some pajamas from her drawer and went into the bathroom to change. While there she also brushed her teeth and took down her hair, all the usual stuff she did to get ready for bed. Though she knew she wouldn’t be going to sleep anytime soon. 

Eshima came out of the bathroom and grabbed her laptop from the safe in her closet. Opening it, she saw a bunch of notifications from the messenger application. She checked her phone and sure enough they were there too. Clicking on it, she went to The Squa server. 

She scrolled up a bit to see a quick conversation about whether sweet or sour candy was better, then someone asked if people wanted to get on call. That was an hour ago. Eshima scrolled down to the voice call section to see that 6 people were already in the call. A full house. She was surprised, since Charlotte should be at school at the moment. She never went on her phone at school. Eshima shrugged it off and went to join the call, but before she did her stomach rumbled in hunger, so she got up and grabbed the cookie she bought earlier from her desk. She broke off a piece, took a bite, then joined the call. 

“I’m telling you guys it was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” Ferris seemed to be in the middle of a story, “The guy just got up in the middle-”

“HI ESHIMA!!!” A voice shouted. Eshima jumped from the loudness of it. “What’s up?” Maddie was hyper as ever, even if it was kind of early in the morning where she was. 

A chorus of “Hi Eshima”’s sounded (with Joe’s “Hey Eshi”) and then there was a ping from her computer. It came from the “quietly suffering” chat in their server, as they liked to call it.

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Hi Eshima.

“Hey guys,” Eshima said. “Cameron, what class are you in?” The only reason someone would be muted in the call was either if something near someone was being super loud or if they were in class. It was school hours for him, so Eshima assumed it was the latter. It took a moment to get a response.

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Government. I’m so bored right now.

  
  


“Understandable.” Eshima said. “Hey Charlotte, why aren’t you in school right now?” 

She heard someone coughing from another line before Charlotte answered in a hoarse voice. “I got sick.”

“Oh. Did you take medicine? You sound like crap, no offense.”

“None taken,” Charlotte said chuckling, “And yeah, I have. I should be better hopefully by tomorrow or the day after.”

“Ah ok, hope you feel better soon.” Eshima said.

“Thanks."

“Can I get back to my story people?” Ferris asked, then huffed. “If you guys were bored should have just said so. Though I probably would have just kept going either way.” He laughed. 

“I missed most of it, what’s happening?” Eshima asked.

“Basically I was on the subway in Manhattan yesterday,” Ferris said, “And someone called out ‘SHOWTIME’. So I just went on my phone and tried to ignore the performers, but one guy, oh, he was  _ pissed _ . Probably was a tourist or something, since most people know to just ignore it if you get annoyed by it. But this guy just  _ got up _ in the middle of it, went right up to them, and told them to stop or he’d ‘tear out their nerves’.”

Eshima burst out into laughter. “What the  _ fuck _ ?”

“I know right!” Ferris exclaimed. “I swear, craziest shit ever.”

“I’d say.” Eshima took another bite of her cookie.

“Oi, who’s eating something over there?” Alisa finally spoke. Her British accent was extremely prominent in her speech.

“That’s me,” Eshima said. She swallowed what was in her mouth. “Cookie.”

Alisa gasped dramatically. “And you don’t bring enough for the rest of us!?!? I’m ashamed to call you my friend.”

“Awwwwww I want cookies!!” Maddie jumped in.

“Cookies would be nice right now,” Charlotte said.

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ So disappointed.（（（(T-T*)）））

Eshima rolled her eyes, even though they couldn’t see. “Fine, fine. Next time I walk around town I’ll get you guys some cookies and ask someone to magically transport them to you.” She said with extreme sarcasm.

“You better.” Joe finally spoke, “Just got outta my last class for the day I’m starving over ‘ere.” His british accent was also there, but it wasn’t as strong as Alisa’s.

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Didn’t you eat lunch?

“All I had was a granola bar. Had to stay on campus today ‘cause of a project.” 

“Oh that sucks.” Eshima commented.

Charlotte sighed. “Make sure you eat next time. Even if you just have to take a ten minute break.”

“Ok  _ mom _ .” Joe shot back with playful sarcasm.

“Well  _ someone _ has to take care of you if you won’t do it yourself.” She said.

“Yeah, whatever.” There was a loud honking sound in the call that made Eshima jump.

“Who was just about to get run over?” Alisa asked loudly. They heard someone panting on another line. 

“That was me,” Ferris breathed out. 

“Come  _ on _ Ferris. I stay home  _ one day _ and you already almost kill yourself?” Maddie sighed. “You’re lost without me.”

“Oh shut up.” Ferris shot back. “It’s because this  _ moron _ apparently doesn’t know what the colors on the traffic light means.”

“Oh, you stayed home today too Maddie?” Eshima asked.

“Uh, hellooo, almost  _ died _ here,” Ferris butted in.

“ _ Sorry _ , are you ok Ferris?” 

“Yes,  _ thank you very much _ .”

“ _ Ok  _ then,” Eshima said, “Now  _ Maddie _ , why are you home today?”

“I didn’t really feel like going so I pretended to be sick.” Maddie chuckled.

Maddie and Ferris attended school in Manhattan. They’d usually travel together and keep each other from dying, but obviously that wasn’t the case today. School for them started later than usual at about 9:00. But even so, it should be around 10:00 in the morning in New York at the moment. So why…

“Then shouldn’t you be at school already Ferris? It should’ve started about an hour ago.”

“Haha, about that…”

“Dumbass tried to pretend to be sick too,” Joe chimed in, “but he got on call with us before his mum left for work.”

“Usually she’d be gone by then!” Ferris tried to defend himself.

Joe let out a dry laugh. “Should’ve at least checked.”

“But  _ I _ was smarter and knew to wait a bit longer, so I got away with it,” Maddie said cockily.

“Well  _ you _ would’ve known when mom left, your room faces the driveway!” 

“Excuses, excuses.” Eshima could almost picture the smug smirk on Maddie’s face.

Ferris groaned. “Whatever.”

_ Daddy uwuwu~~~:  _ Class ends in 2 minutes and I have a free period after this so I’ll be on call soon.

“Yay!” Maddie exclaimed. All tension that may have been present at the moment melted away. Maybe Cameron spoke when he did for that reason.  _ Smart _ . Eshima smiled.

“ _ Awww  _ but I’ll probably be at school by then.” 

“Yeah, it be like that sometimes,” Alisa said.

“Yep, it really do,” Eshima commented.

“Oh  _ hush _ Eshima. It’s already night for you right now, isn’t it?” Ferris asked.

“Yeah, but most of the time when you’re all awake I’m either sleeping or in class.”

“Ah yeah, true.”

“But I stay up until 3 in the morning every night  _ just _ for you guys,” Eshima said.

The sound of someone coming off mute rang through the call. “You really do need to get more sleep.” Cameron’s voice said. 

“Oh come on, don’t come on call just to lecture me about my sleeping habits,” Eshima laughed, “Besides, coffee’s a thing, right?"

“True, but one day we’re banning you from the call so you can actually take the time to rest.”

“ _ Nooooo _ . Cameron you’re mean.  _ Hpmh _ .” 

“Cammy might be mean, but he’s smart,” Joe said.

“You don’t ban Ferris or Maddie from calls!” 

“Well that’s because they’re not the ones who go bowling for 3 hours every day,” Cameron reasoned.

“Bowling’s not  _ that _ important. You guys already know how I feel about that.” And they did. They were the only ones Eshima opened up to regarding how she feels about her “Ultimate” talent.

There was silence in the call for a short moment, to which Eshima could only guess was because they were debating whether they should argue against her or not on the claim that bowling isn’t “important”. When Eshima told them about it, they respected how she felt but also constantly told her that she and her ability to bowl was just as important as anything else anybody might do. And even if she didn’t feel that way, it was important to her and that’s all that mattered. Eshima didn’t fully believe their words, but she was still glad she was able to tell someone.

Cameron spoke up again. “Well even if you think that, you should still sleep because no matter what you still need to bowl.”

Eshima sighed. “Maybe so, but for now I’ll stay on here. You guys are much more fun than just laying here waiting to go to sleep.”

“Ok then!” Maddie said happily. “Oh! Did I ever tell you guys about Ferris’ new  _ cruuuush _ ~” 

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ Maddie dont you dare

If Ferris hadn’t gone on mute (which Eshima suspected was what Maddie was waiting for) he would have probably kept making so much noise that Maddie couldn’t get a word out. But since he couldn’t speak he was only able to write so much as a single sentence.

“I’ve never heard about this,” Charlotte said with a hint of teasing.

Either Maddie hadn’t seen Ferris’ message or just flat out ignored it, but she kept going with her story either way. “ _ Welllll _ , her name’s Elizabeth and—”

_ Bueller. Ferris Bueller.:  _ S t o p

  
They talked for hours into the night (well again,  _ Eshima’s _ night) cracking jokes at each other and just talking about life. Together they seemed to have the ability to never run out of things to say. If one conversation died down, another topic was always brought to the table. As time went on a couple of people had to leave for different reasons (Charlotte because her mother didn’t want her to strain herself talking for too long and Ferris because his teacher caught him on his phone). When it got to be around 2:30 in the morning Eshima couldn’t stay awake anymore. She said her “goodbye”’s to her friends with a couple of “I love you”’s thrown in and got off the call. After putting her phone on her charger and turning off the lamp, Eshima went under the covers of her bed and fell asleep within the minute.


End file.
